Venice

Rialto Bridge

Located on the lagoon of the same name, in the north-east of the Italian peninsula, Venice is, along with Rome, the most visited Italian city and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Its name immediately evokes its distinctive features such as “city on water”, canals, gondolas, Venetian palaces, bridges (354 of them), the lion and St Mark’s Square, etc.
Capital of the Veneto region, it is home to only 254,000 inhabitants, but welcomes 19 million visitors each year (in 2006).
The crowds are fairly constant, with peaks during Carnival, and between May and October.

Venice was the gateway to the East, founded by refugees fleeing the barbarians. It became a Byzantine province that gained its independence in the 10th century. In the Middle Ages, it conquered a vast empire in the Mediterranean that ensured its wealth and power for centuries.

Dorsoduro

The entire city and the Lagoon were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
Until 1841, the historic city remained isolated, before the construction of the railway bridge. To reach it by car, it was necessary to wait until 1933, when Mussolini inaugurated the 4-kilometre-long Ponte della Libertà, which connects Mestre to Piazzale Roma.

Sites in Venice

List of the main places in Venice, by district (sestiere). Also read the articles What to see in Venice?, a day in Venice and two- or three-day itinerary in Venice.

• St Mark’s Square: St Mark’s Square, St Mark’s Basilica, Campanile, Doge’s Palace
• San Marco sestiere: Correr Museum, National Archaeological Museum, La Fenice Theatre, Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, Campo Santo Stefano, Fondaco dei Tedeschi
• San Polo – Rialto sestiere: Rialto Bridge and Grand Canal, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Frari Basilica, Campo San Polo, Rialto Market, Ca’ Pesaro, Natural History Museum
• Dorsoduro sestiere: Accademia Gallery, Peggy Guggenheim Museum, Basilica Santa Maria della Salute, Ca’ Rezzonico, Punta della Dogana
• Cannaregio sestiere: Ghetto, Ca’ d’Oro, Santa Maria di Nazareth
• Castello sestiere: San Giovanni e Paolo Square and Church, Venetian Arsenal, Venice Naval History Museum
• Lagoon islands: Murano, Burano and Torcello

Links

• On the internet: en.wikipedia.org, www.venise-voyage.org

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